Red Hat, SUSE, and Nutanix topped Forrester’s latest “Wave” ranking of multicloud container platforms, though the research firm noted that the space is feeling increased pressure to “justify their value.”

Forrester positioned Red Hat first in line, touting the vendor’s OpenShift-based container management platform as being extensive and robust. This includes the ability to support the traditional multicloud needs, Red Hat’s focus on adding new capabilities targeted at AI and virtualization, and its ability to tap into parent company IBM’s broad ecosystem.

Nits targeted at Red Hat were limited mostly to cost concerns, with Forrester noting some Red Hat customers were weighing the offering to public cloud-based serverless container runtime and competing multicloud management platforms.

SUSE was also well-positioned in the “leaders” category, with the vendor noted for continuing to back its Rancher Labs acquisition with other purchases and ongoing innovations. That has propelled SUSE to being “above average in many categories,” though it remains somewhat geographically limited in its scope.

Nutanix was the only other vendor deemed a leader, with Forrester applauding the vendor’s emboldened market approach following its purchase of D2iQ early last year. Nutanix’s management has touted recent success of its Kubernetes-based platforms in stealing customers away from rivals, including Red Hat and VMware, but Forrester pointed to customers still wanting a more robust alternative.

Other vendors deemed worthy of the Forrester multicloud container platform wave queue were Spectro Cloud, Mirantis, Canonical, Diamanti, Rafay, and Kubermatic.

While VMware was often targeted in the report as a platform enterprises might want to move away from, it was notable that the vendor’s own offerings were not included. Forrester explained this omission was due to VMware’s current multicloud container platform lacking a “separate SKU” that prevented it from being included on this list.

Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware has seen an absorption of once independently available offerings into just a few core platforms, including VMware’s once highly competitive Kubernetes-based management platforms. Broadcom recently did untether some of that reliance with a new vSphere Supervisor update that makes it easier to update and manage Kubernetes-based workloads running in VMware’s virtualized environment, however Broadcom’s broader portfolio remains muddled.

How does container management evolve?

Despite the choppy approach, Broadcom’s angle is not without support.

Forrester noted in its ranking that multicloud container platforms have “always had to justify their value – charging customers on top of public cloud costs – by offering superior orchestration of containerized apps along with other differentiating cloud-native technologies.” This has become a tougher task with the advent of more automated cloud processes.

“While multicloud container platforms have gained traction by outperforming native cloud capabilities, the rise of serverless and automated container services has raised the bar,” the report notes.

This sentiment was echoed by GlobalData’s Charlotte Dunlap, who in a report earlier this year pointed to growing data management challenge tied to increased containerization.

“Removing friction is now the primary mantra in making app modernization successful,” Dunlap wrote. “As Kubernetes adoption expands, reducing complexity through intuitive interfaces and intelligent automation is essential. Observability tools that integrate AI and open-source technologies not only empower DevOps teams but also bring more IT roles into the modernization journey. The focus must now shift to creating cohesive, user-friendly platforms that drive efficiency, scalability, and faster time to value.”